ROSE THE FREELOADER'S CASH GRAB OPENED FOR PUBLIC COMMENT: CUT JOB CREATION FOR HIKE-AND-BIKE TRAILS

Special to El Rrun-Rrun

On April 12 the City of Brownsville mayor and commissioners passed a new ordinance that reduced the half-cent in sales tax funding from the the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation ( a 4A Corporation to one-quarter cent and to pass the half-cent to the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation (a 4B corporation) and required the BCIC to dedicate 50 percent of its new budgets to so-called "quality of life." 

The GBIC, a 4A corporation, is funding from local sales tax that primarily targets manufacturing and industrial development. Type A can use revenue to fund land, facilities, targeted structures and

improvements for projects. Type A projects include: infrastructure improvements that promote or develop business enterprises, maintenance and operating costs associated with projects and job training classes. Type A sales taxes are mostly restricted to spending for economic development purposes

The BCIC, a 4B corporation, also funded by sales taxes may encompass any project under Type A rules, along with other project types including quality of life improvement projects. Examples of Type B EDCs include: professional and amateur sports and athletics facilities, tourism and entertainment facilities, affordable housing projects, water and sewage facilities and parking and transportation facilities

With this new focus on "quality of life" projects for the BCIC, the city is removing half of the GBIC budget that emphasizes well-paying job creation and shifting the enhanced BCIC budget to fund "quality of life" endeavors to attract tourism and entertainment facilities. Future BCIC boards will be required to follow the city's list of goals, all heavily leaning to hike-and-bike trails and "wellness" projects.

The Master Plan List include:

City of Brownsville Sidewalk and Trails Master Plan;

• The City’s Comprehensive Plan which includes a hike-and-bike trails component

• The Caracara Trails (formerly the Active Plan);

• Brownsville Parks & Open Space Master Plan, again, with a hike-and-bike trail component; and

• The City of Brownsville Capital Improvement Program (CIP) for Parks and Recreation (with a hike-and-bike trail component)

Commissioners, on the April 12 meeting, approved the ordinance on first reading by considering the passage of the ordinance on the "consent" agenda with no public input.

In today's meeting that has changed thanks to commissioners Bryan Martinez and Roy de Los Santos who thought that such a refocusing of the use of the city's sales tax funds – to take money from job creation and require it be funneled to non-job creation on "quality of life" projects - was too important to be passed by a majority of the commission without public input. They asked that the ordinance's requirement that the BCIC 50 percent item be moved from consent to public hearings so people will have the opportunity to express their opinion.

The commission will consider public comment at today's meeting which will be held at at 5:00 p.m., in the City Commission Chambers, located on the second floor of the Brownsville City Hall - Old Federal Building, located at 1001 East Elizabeth Street, in downtown Brownsville.  

The adoption of the change – if the commissioners had not interfered – would have passed with only consent on the second reading..

But there is also another change in that the BCIC could only spend the money in a list that would require the funding – in perpetuity – to be spent on that specific list heavily leaning toward commissioner Rose Gowen's fixation with hike-and-bike trails which she claims is fighting obesity and diabetes. The new ordinance states that only a two-thirds vote from the BCIC board and the city commission could allow future BCIC boards to deviate from those lists.

With Gowen's 14-year tenure as city commissioner ending in 2025 because of term limits, she is obviously pushing for the changes so that future boards will be hog-tied to adhere to her plan to continue funneling millions to fund her pet projects with public money long after she is gone.

It is interesting to note that Gowen would lock in funding for her pet project funded with public-generated sales tax revenues for "perpetuity" when she – in her 14 years as city commissioner – never paid a penny in property taxes because of her home's inclusion as a tax-exempt historically designated site. Thanks for nothing, Rose the Freeloader.